But it is the change of direction to a battle royale system that will most interest gamers.

David Vonderhaar from developer Treyarch acknowledged the growing popularity of the genre by saying "we play these games too".

Games such as Fortnite and its free-to-play online battle royale gameplay have gathered huge fanbases - with England star Dele Alli live-streaming himself playing the game and using in-game victory dances in goal celebrations.

But Mr Vonderhaar said Blackout would stand out in the growing market because it was "battle royale done the Black Ops way" and would feature the largest map the developer has created in a Call Of Duty game.

He added that characters and other features from the last 10 years of Black Ops games would be included in the new mode.

Treyarch chairman Mark Lamia told fans at the game's reveal event in Los Angeles the firm had "never shied away from introducing something new" and that while Black Ops 4 did not have a story mode, it would be "adding narrative to the other modes".

Call Of Duty's various titles have sold more than 250 million copies since first appearing in 2003 and the game is regarded as one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.